What’s the office of the future? According to the Office of the Future Consortium (OTF), it is a high performance building that embodies efficient and modern approaches to lighting, lighting controls, plug load controls, HVAC performance and metering in tenant improvement projects. Now, the nation’s first OTF pilot project has been completed, at the Orange County offices of Glumac, a sustainable engineering firm.

Glumac’s 8,672 square-foot new office, located in the Irvine Towers complex in Irvine, Calif., is a poster-child for energy-efficient, high tech lighting. It makes use of progressive technologies such as advanced self-powered, wireless lighting provided by The Lighting Quotient — a single-component task/ambient, or “tambient” solution that is integrated into the furniture and eliminates the need for overhead wiring and luminaries.

image via RMA Photography

While the overall connected lighting power density in the new office space is 0.8 watts per square foot (W/SF), early measurements indicate that actual operating power usage will wind up somewhere between 0.24 to 0.3 W/SF in the open office area–almost 75% better than California’s Title 24 Energy Efficiency Standards. This achievement is due largely to The Lighting Quotient’s tambient lighting, which reduces the the connected lighting power density in working areas to less than 0.6 watts per square foot.

“Tambient luminaires provide the optimal solution for energy efficiency and visual comfort in the office,” said David Pfund, president of tambient at The Lighting Quotient, in a statement. “With the Glumac facility named as the first Office of the Future pilot, we’re demonstrating that energy efficient, low-ambient office environments can be visually satisfying. This also illustrates the impact lighting and lighting controls have on energy efficiency. We’re proud to contribute to this recognition.”

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Susan DeFreitas has covered all manner of green technology for EarthTechling since 2009. She is a graduate of Prescott College for the Liberal Arts and the Environment, and has a background in marketing green businesses. Her work on green living has been featured in Yes! Magazine, the Utne Reader and Natural Home.